Time Management - List Management - Priority Management

Are there too many things on your "TO DO" list?  Do you have things listed in priority order? Is anything actually getting done?

Life can be a challenge. Most people have too many things that they want to do or get done - yet they can't seem to get ahead of their list. If they have a list, that is.

It's easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out by the number of things that we expect of ourselves. A lot of this is of our own making. We try to squeeze too many things into our day and then get upset with ourselves when we don't accomplish everything.

The problem is not that we aren't accomplishing everything - it's that we don't have a system in place - that works for us. Everyone is different - there is no "one size fits all".

Managing your time includes managing your expectations. Start by making a list of all the things that you want or need (or think you need) to get done. This is your master list.

You then need to decide on what is a priority and number them accordingly. This takes some decision making. Then step back and be realistic about your priorities. Maybe you might want to renumber your list. What seems like a priority now might not be a priority after you have looked at your entire list and thought about it for a while.

Next, you will want to break down your list into tasks.  These tasks should be things that can be accomplished in a short period of time. They are not "projects" - but short tasks - such as deciding on the color for the office that you are going to repaint (project).

It would look something like this:

Project:   Paint office

Tasks:

• Decide on a day to paint and schedule it on your calendar
• Decide on a color
• Go to the store to pick up paint
• Pick up brushes at the store
• Pick up paint sticks at the store
• Pick up a drop cloth at the store
• Paint the room
• Clean up the room of all material (drop cloth, paint cans...)

This is just one example of breaking down your projects into manageable tasks.

By putting everything down on your list - you won't have to remember everything and you won't stress yourself out by forgetting something. Plan ahead and plan everything out.

Scheduling your time, making lists, breaking down your priorities into actionable events is critical in reducing your stress.

It is also important not to over schedule yourself. By putting everything on your calendar (either paper or electronic) - it helps you to see everything that you are actually doing. It's a reality check.

Once it's on paper - and you have a "visual" - it's easier to step make and make some decisions on your "priorities". Be realistic about the time and more importantly - the energy - that you really have for all of your commitments.

It's easy to get lost in your commitments and to forget the most important thing - your family and yourself. Schedule time for your family and yourself on your calendar. If you don't - no one will.

Better time management results in helping to reduce your stress!

Have a great and productive - but not over scheduled week!


Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life 

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Paper Managment Filing System - Another Great Option - Freedom Filer

Paper management is a never ending nightmare for most people. We get inundated with paper every day. What do we do with it all?  Where do we put it? How do we find it?

Being organized - with paper - is a challenge for a lot of people. Having some type of system in place - whether it's a filing cabinet and file folders or an electronic filing system - really makes a difference in being able to find the papers and information we need - in a timely manner.

Not being able to find a document causes frustration and stress. Especially if you wait until the last minute to find that important document that you need.


Another great system that can really save you time and frustration is the  Freedom Filer  system. It is a self purging system that is easy to use and easy to set up.



Company Info:
 FreedomFiler™ provides state-of-the-art, maintenance-free paper organizing solutions for the home and office. Created by an award winning development team, our flagship product is a self-purging home filing system that forever eliminates the need to clean out and reorganize files, while dramatically reducing the time and energy required to file and retrieve papers.

Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

Finding Your Papers Easily.....With Paper Tiger

Paper management is a never ending nightmare for most people. We get inundated with paper every day. What do we do with it all?  Where do we put it? How do we find it?

Being organized - with paper - is a challenge for a lot of people. Having some type of system in place - whether it's a filing cabinet and file folders or an electronic filing system - really makes a difference in being able to find the papers and information we need - in a timely manner.

Not being able to find a document causes frustration and stress. Especially if you wait until the last minute to find that important document that you need.

A great system that can really save you time and frustration is the Paper Tiger system.

The Simplest Digital Filing System in the World!

Manage Digital & Paper Files In One Place

Finally, a product that allows you to organize your ENTIRE office in one place. You will have one screen to search for all of your information, be it in PDF format from the paper you have scanned or if you have the paper in your file cabinets, as most businesses do. Many people are starting to move to a more paperless environment but still have a great deal of paper that they must manage each day. The combination of Paper Tiger and the NEW Digital Tiger makes it possible to easily convert your paper to PDF files and store them in the amazing product Google Docs. In addition, using Paper Tiger, you can easily index your physical paper files and find them while searching for your digital files...all in one search! Digital Tiger is FREE with your paid Paper Tiger Online account (Basic or Pro plans).


Our original product, Paper Tiger Software in the market since 1995, revolutionized how tens of thousands of organizations/individuals manage their filing and paper (hanging file folders). Paper Tiger greatly SIMPLIFIED filing by eliminating the problems found in traditional alphabetic methods and made finding paper files in the office faster and much more reliable. The software is a very powerful, yet simple indexing system for paper office files. It works like a search engine for paper files to help you stay organized. People using the software can save over 150 hours per year by eliminating the time-consuming task of looking for lost information. People so love the software that they have expanded its use to many things other than paper!

As the power of computers has increased, the cost of disk space has decreased and the cloud has become secure, reliable and robust, more and more people are looking for a digital solution for at least some of their paper files. This lead us to create Digital Tiger. Digital Tiger and Paper Tiger work together seamlessly to provide you one place to find BOTH your digital (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDFs and almost any other file type) AND your paper files in one search. Using both products, you will be able to "Find Anything in Your Office in 5 Seconds or Less...Guaranteed!


For more information - go to The Paper Tiger



Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Paper and a Shredder

The number one issue for most people when it comes to organizing is paper.  There is too much of it.  It keeps coming in the mail.  The piles keep growing. 

So how do we control it?

With a shredder !!!

Everyone should have one.  For a variety of reasons.  The most important one is security.  With identity theft on the rise everyone needs to be extra careful of their personal identification. And that doesn't mean just their credit cards. That's actually the easiest part.

Most people just throw away "junk mail" - such as advertisements for credit cards or their envelopes for financial or medical information. This is "identity theft" waiting to happen.

Any identifying piece of mail - anything with your name on it - should be shredded.

Those "free" address labels that you get in the mail - shred them if you don't want them. Don't just throw them out into the garbage.

Any old bills should be shredded - not just thrown away in the garbage.

Magazines that have address labels on them - also have identifying information on them. Take the labels off before throwing them away.

Any bank statements - shred those. Never throw those in the garbage.

Sounds "logical" - yes, it is - but most people still just throw everything into the garbage. In this day and age with identity theft running rampant - don't take the chance.

A shredder should be in every home.  Not only for your protection - but also to keep the paper piles down.

Happy Shredding !



Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

The Paper Shuffle

 Organizing spaces is easy and fun (well, for some of us).  Paper - not so much. Getting your paperwork and files organized is time consuming and draining (both physically and emotionally). You have to make decisions about every single piece of paper. There can be hundreds of pieces of paper in an inch. Hundreds of decisions that have to be made about what to do with each piece of paper.

Is the piece of paper important?

Do we have to keep it or can we pitch it?

What do we do with it?  File it?  Where?

And so the paper shuffle begins. From one stack to the next. You can't make a decision so you move the paper from one pile to the  "I'll get to it later" pile.

But you never do. And the pile just continues to grow.

So what's the answer?  Well, it all depends on your "style" and the ability to adapt to a new "plan".  A Professional Organizer always takes the clients "style" into consideration when coming up with a solution. There is no "one size fits all" in organizing.

But no matter what the solution is - there is not getting around the fact that you have to "deal with the paper". Go through the process once, come up with a solution and hope that you will "stick with the program".

Coming up with an easy, yes, you will (not "CAN") do it plan is the first step.  By having a system in place the time spent filing your papers into the appropriate and meaningful files will be drastically reduced.

When a bill or some other important piece of paper comes into your home or office, you will immediately be able to put it into its appropriate place instead of just piling it on top of an already ignored "pile of things" to deal with.

By handling each piece of paper only once you will save a lot of time and your desk will be a pleasure to work at instead of somewhere you would rather not be.

Organizing paper takes a lot of  thought and organizational skills. Not everyone has it. So don't be concerned that you are the most disorganized person out there.

You aren't!



Happy Organizing!




Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Organizing Your Files

Organizing is an on going process. It's not a "one-time deal". And it's not something that you have to set aside an entire day for.

Organizing your files and your paperwork is extremely time consuming because you have to look at each piece of paper and make a decision. It's emotionally exhausting. So why wait until year end to go through that process?

For best results and the least amount of trauma make it a habit to go through your filing cabinet, files or desk drawer and clean out your paperwork at least once a quarter or every few months.

Go through each file and toss anything that you really don't need, anything that is expired (coupons or notices that are past the deadline....) or anything that you have not dealt with. This does not include anything related to taxes or any legal papers.

People tend to keep too much paperwork because they are afraid to get rid of things or because of their "good intentions" of doing something with it.

Make sure that your files are labeled according to what makes sense for you. Don't use a system that is too complex and that you will never use or keep up. It might work for some people but that doesn't mean it fits into your lifestyle.

Make sure that all of your papers are filed at least monthly to keep the mess at bay.

Only keep "current" files in your filing cabinet. Archive old files and store them out of the way. If your filing cabinet is too crowded and you cannot get into the files easily it will give you another excuse for not filing.

Keep it simple. Keep it organized.


Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Organizing Your Purse (Briefcase / Backpack)....

You can admit it... your purse (or briefcase or backpack) is a bottomless pit. You throw things in there never to be seen again. We all do it...admit it!

Everything we have is important so we have to keep it. The problem is that we don't have an endless amount of space in our purse (briefcase or backpack).

There are a number of things that we could or should do on a regular basis. Clean it out! Take a few minutes, yes only a few and empty the entire thing. Shake out the dirt and bits and pieces of things that have accumulated on the bottom.

Separate everything into piles, just like in your home. Must keep, goes somewhere else, garbage.

All of those receipts that you just threw in there need to go into a file or somewhere else. It's a good idea to keep a small envelope in your purse just for receipts so that they don't end up all torn up or lost. When you buy something that you might need a receipt for (such as clothes that you might want to return or appliances....) put it into a receipt file. At least once a week go through that envelope and put the receipts in your permanent file or check it against your credit card statement and then toss it.

There are a number of great purse organizers in all sizes that have a lot of different sized pockets that let you keep your purse organized and clutter free. I have a number of them in different sizes that are great to use in all kinds of purses, briefcases, backpacks, luggage and more. Or you could just use Ziplock plastic bags for things like makeup and other small things that might get lost in your big purse.

Being able to find things quickly in your purse makes like so much easier. And you all know that by cleaning out your purse at least once a month you will lose a few extra pounds of weight that you really didn't want anyway!

Happy Organizing!

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Business - Organizing Your Schedule and Paperwork

Small businesses are crucial to the economy and we like to use and support small businesses and neighborhood businesses as much as we can. And for the most part we always get better and more personalized service when working with a local business.

But sometimes we are disappointed because the business "forgets" to return our calls or "forgets" to come out and provide the service we requested on the day they arranged to come out. Most often the business will apologize and they will come up with some excuse. The problem is that the excuse shows how unprofessional they are and how unorganized they are.

Having run a number of small businesses my first priority was always to create the feeling of a bigger company. At least in the eyes of the client. Some clients don't trust that a person that runs a business out of an office in their home will be "professional" or "experienced" enough for them. One has nothing to do with the other. Today many businesses are run out of home offices to save money and for convenience and life style choices.

One of the first accounting firms that I did business with had their office in the basement of their home. But once you got into their basement office you would have thought that you were in a high class accounting firm. The office had the highest quality equipment and beautiful furniture. But they saved money by not pay thousands of dollars a month in rent and therefore passed that on to their clients.

Having forms that are professional where you can capture client information is crucial. Not only does it present a professional image but it also allows you to capture the needed information without forgetting anything. Even if you are a roofer or plumber you need to present a professional image when it comes to paperwork.

Writing quotes down on a scrap of paper does not present a professional image and chances are you will lose that scrap of paper.

Which is what happened to one of the plumbers we tried to do business with. He lost the order...somewhere..... He couldn't find our contact information and didn't call us.

Having a filing system and logging phone messages and client schedules is crucial to a small business. Being organized in a small business is even more important than in a larger company because the smaller business depends on client referrals more than a larger company that has a big advertising budget.

By having systems in place to capture client information and having a process in place to follow-up on that information you will save time and your clients will be happier when they get the service they need on the day they need it.

Being organized in business is crucial. Start today. Step back and take a look at your business and see how you can improve and make your clients happier. You won't be disappointed in the end result.

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCES

Organizing your financial information is a crucial part of every household. Unfortunately it’s one thing that most people just don’t do.

It’s time consuming. It takes a lot of thought. It’s very personal and emotional. It’s a reality check that most people don’t want to think about.

But you can’t just leave your finances to chance. Well, at least you shouldn’t. Running a household is not much different than running a business.

Having an organized system in place helps things run smoothly.

Let’s start with your space. You need to pick a place that is going to be command central. Whether you have an office in your home, a desk in a corner or the kitchen table… it doesn’t matter. Just pick a place and make that your command center.

If you don’t have a separate office space you still need to have files. You can have a file cabinet or a file drawer or a file basket….it doesn’t matter as long as you have files for all of our finances (bills, receipts, tax related information…).

You need to come up with a system and a plan that works for you. Decide what that is and stick to it. It could be that you set aside a certain day each week to pay your bills and go through your finances or an hour a week or every other week. Whatever works for you ….that you will stick with. That’s what’s important.

Some simple tips for dealing with bills:

• Go through your mail each day and put all of your bills in one spot (a basket, a folder…).
• Record the date due on the outside of the envelope when the bill arrives.
• On the day that you decide is finance day, go through your bills and pay each one.
• You can pay your bills by: Check Pay Online Automatic payments
• Record your payments (in a check register, a spreadsheet, accounting software….).
• Decide when the payments will be sent out. You can put the “mail on” date on the envelope in pencil. Put a stamp on it and mail it.
• File copies of the bill with payment info.

By coming up with a system that works for you there will be less of a chance of missing a payment and getting hit with late fees. Whatever system you decide to use, the important part is that you have a system and you stick with it.

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Being organized is not only about having an uncluttered and orderly space. It’s about having an organized life and about having less stress in your life.

By having “a place for everything and everything in its place” you are saving time and money. I’ve said that numerous times before. And it’s true.

What I’ve found is that a lot of people think that money grows on trees. Because I seem to find it wherever I go. Not only do I encounter a lot of loose change all over the house, the floors, counters, couches and everywhere else I also find $5, $10, $20 bills in piles everywhere and on the floors. And I seem to be the only person that notices this. But it all adds up! Even the dimes and quarters add up to a lot of money. Once I had a client make fun of me for handing them the dimes and quarters that I found throughout the house. But I found at least $20 in just a couple of hours. That’s not peanuts. It pales in comparison to another client where I literally found over $200 in change and small bills on the floors throughout the house.

I guess it must be nice not to have to worry about money and to just walk over it and not care. But not everyone has that luxury.

Another example of wasting money is by not having a system in place for your bills and then accruing finance charges and ruining your credit rating because you don’t pay your bills on time. And the number one reason is because the bills are just thrown in a pile somewhere and then just overlooked. Or accidentally thrown out and forgotten.

Disorganization costs you money. A professional organizer can help save you money by showing you how to make some minor adjustments in how you do things. Some people can benefit by using a life coach to teach them skills that they don’t have. Stop throwing away your money. Get organized.

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

YOUR BUSINESS + A CRISIS: ARE YOU PREPARED ?

People don’t like to think about emergencies. Not in their personal lives and certainly not in business. But as a small business owner you can’t just stick your head in the sand.

If you own a small business (in terms of people, not sales) it is imperative that you are prepared for all emergencies.

Let’s start with thinking about you as the business owner. If something happened to you or a member of your family and you could not be involved in your business for a few days, weeks or months…. could the business survive without you? Do you have someone in place that can run things or take charge while your gone?

You may be the healthiest person on the planet….but a car accident or a medical crisis with a family member can have your spiraling out of control and the last thing that you are going to be thinking about is your business.

Do you have a back up plan?

Do you have a manager or key employee that can handle things while you are gone?

Do you have an operations manual? Do you have anything documented? Those are a lot of things to think about. And unfortunately I have seen too many businesses where there is no documentation of any kind.

Now let’s say that you are just fine but that your key employee leaves. Can your business survive? Have you given one employee too much power that if they left they can cripple your business?

Do you have job descriptions for all of your employees? Including yourself?

Is everyone trained in everyone else’s job?

Let’s go one step further. What if your building burns down? I’m just saying…..

Do you have everything documented and taken OFF SITE ???? Do you have backups of your backups? Have you tested your backup system lately? Have you tried re-storing your backup tapes to be sure they work?

As the old saying goes “been there…done that…”. Yes, my backup tapes said they were “just fine”. They weren’t. And then came the crash. Of course it was two weeks before the end of the year when I usually run every single report with data from January through December. Two more weeks and I would have been fine. But I wasn’t. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Are you starting to get a bit nervous because you don’t have a backup plan and I’ve made you think about things that you never wanted to think about?

Don’t stick your head in the sand. Accidents happen. Emergencies happen. Loyal long time employees leave you hanging. Stuff happens.

Be prepared. Get your business organized. Start today.

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

ORGANIZING YOUR PAPERWORK and YOUR LIFE

It’s the start of a new year so why don’t you start the year off right by making a commitment to be more organized with what counts most, your important papers.

Most people have a lot of important paperwork. Scattered all over the house.

Do you have a “will” ? A “health care proxy” ? A “living will” ? A “power of attorney” ?

Does anyone know where these documents are?

Do you have your medical history documented somewhere? Do you have a list of your doctors ? Do you have a list of your surgeries ? Of your medications ? Of your allergies ?

Stuff happens…… Are you ready ? Do you really want to take that chance ?

If you have a family….is it fair to them ? If you have kids…thinking about protecting them with a “will” is not only important…it’s down right necessary !!!!

Don’t wait until something happens to try and find all of the papers that you need. Be pro-active and have everything in one place. Make sure that someone knows where that place is and had access to it if you can’t get to it.

What happens if there is a disaster and you had to evacuate the house? Would you be able to gather your important papers quickly?

Start the year off right by gathering all of your information in one place. It doesn’t matter where. As long as you do it. One central place. That’s the first step of being organized with your important papers.

If you do that, then you’ve accomplished more than most people.

The second step is to organize your paperwork into some type of system. There are a variety of systems out there. Pick what works for you and get started. Some people like a paper system and some people like a computerized system. Whatever works for you, your budget and your organizing personality. As long as you do it.

There is a great system out there called “Vital Records Portavault”. It’s a portable system that houses all of your vital records in one case. There is room for storing CD’s/DVD’s, flash drive and hundreds of pages of vital documents. It comes with a disaster planning guideline and is endorsed by the American Red Cross. The Vital Records Portavault has been awarded the Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal. The PTPS Media Seal is an international leader in certifying consumer products for quality, effectiveness and value. For more information visit “Vital Records Portavault”.

For a great computerized system there is a product called “CareBinders”. It tracks your personal data (education, events, passwords, resume), your medical data (allergies, immunizations, doctors, medical history), your financial data (account #’s, credit cards, insurance policies, legal documents) and your “fun” data (favorite music, photos, restaurants…)

CareBinders™ is the secure, offline, personal recordkeeping software for today’s busy people. Keep track of all your data—personal, medical, financial and fun! Enter data once and CareBinders™ instantly puts it in all the right places. Track anything and everything that is important to you: from your cholesterol to your wine collections and trips! Output medical intake forms to resumes at the touch of a print key. Start simplifying your life—start using CareBinders™ today.

Both systems are also available through my website. For information on available discounts check out my website on the "links / more products page" or email me.

Those are just two great options for organizing your important information. It doesn’t matter what system you use… as long as your start organizing your information and getting things in place.

Be organized… get your affairs in order….. and go about your life knowing that if a disaster struck you would have all of your information at your fingertips. Or if anything happened to you, your family would know what you wanted and your kids would be protected.

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

Organizing Your Life - Preparing of the Unexpected

Listen to internet radio with The Joyful Organizer on Blog Talk Radio

Being prepared for the unexpected is something that most people don't want to think about. But it's something that everyone needs to do. Having all of your legal, medical & health information documented and having someone know where to find it.... in case of an emergency, illness or death .... is critical.

Listen to this Radio Show and start getting yourself organized today.
It's crucial.

INFORMATION ORGANIZING - MEDICAL AND LIFE

Most people don’t think about dying….or becoming seriously ill. It’s just too “real. Or “morbid”

But if you have kids…thinking about protecting them with a “will” is not only important…it’s down right necessary !!!!

Maybe you are only 22 or 28 or 35…and will live to be 80 ! Maybe you are in “perfect” health. But what if another driver falls asleep at the wheel and runs a red light and totals your car?

What if ???

What if you aren’t as lucky as I was and you don’t make it? And I had my baby daughter I the car.

We were beyond lucky. I saw the car…I had the right of way. I knew they weren’t going to stop. But I couldn’t do anything…. There was oncoming traffic in the other lane and I had nowhere to go.

I was lucky. My daughter and I survived. With no injuries.

But what if you aren’t so lucky. And your child is left with no parent?

Do you have a "wil"l ?

Do you have a “health care proxy” ?

Do you have a “living will” ?

Do you have a “power of attorney” ?

Does anyone know where these documents are ?

Do you have your medical history documented somewhere?

Do you have a list of your doctors ?

Do you have a list of your surgeries ?

Of your medications ?

Of your allergies ?

Stuff happens……

Are you ready ?

Do you really want to take that chance ?

If you have a family….is it fair to them ?

Be organized… get your affairs in order….. and go about your life knowing that if anything happened to you, your family would know what you wanted and your kids would be protected.

It’s time to be a “grown up”.


Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

PAPER MANAGEMENT

Paper….paper….paper…

Even in this electronic age we are still inundated with paper. The mailman brings us stuff that we don’t even want. Junk mail, bills….. A never ending cycle.

So what do we do with it? Besides let it pile up and ignore it?

Where do we put it…besides the kitchen table? Or dumping it on our “office desk”? Where it sits…waiting for us to “do something with it”.

If you want to cut down on mail and paper there are a number of options:

* Send a letter to DMA and request that they stop sending you “junk mail”:

DMA Mail DMA Preference Service
P.O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, New York 11735 – 9008

* Cancel your magazine and newspaper subscriptions and read them on-line.

As soon as the mail comes immediately sort it into piles:
* Junk (immediately sort that right into the garbage can)
* Bills to pay
* Personal mail (letters, cards…)
* Business Mail
* Magazines & Newspapers

Pick a specific day or time that you are going to sit down and go through each pile. In business you will probably have to deal with it more often than on a personal level.

Set up a schedule where you will deal with your bills. Once a week, once every other week…whatever works for you. But then stick to it.

For business mail you should also have a schedule where you will sit down and deal with your mail. When you go through it put it into piles of things that you need to deal with immediately, things that you can deal with later, information to keep or things to toss.

By compartmentalizing your mail you are able to focus on one thing at a time and actually able to accomplish something instead of going from reading a letter, to paying a bill, to dealing with a business issue…and so on.

It is very important to remember that when you are tossing out mail or any papers that you remember to protect yourself and your identity by shredding personal or business information that has your social security number or credit card information or any other information that could be used for identity theft.

Another important aspect of paper management is “paper retention”. How long do you really need to keep information? There are record retention laws that relate to personal records (taxes, financial info….) and business records. Be sure that you know how long you actually need to keep things. There is no reason to keep papers forever…unless you happen to have lots of extra room that you have no other use for.

In your filing cabinet you should only have records for the current year. Last years information should be taken out of your files and stored elsewhere (basement, attic….).

Cutting down on your paper usage and paper shuffling saves you time, money and storage space.

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

SETTING UP A NEW OFFICE

You are setting up a new office. Before you go to the store and randomly start buying things you will need to make a list of some basic supplies and equipment. By making a list of the essentials you will save yourself time (because you don’t have to go back to the store over and over again) and money (because you know what you have and therefore won’t buy duplicates).

Don’t go overboard on supplies when you are first starting out. Buy the essentials and keep a list of things that you still need. What you “think” you need and what you “really” need can be two different things. Just because you “want” the best of everything and like all of the “things” in the store doesn’t mean that “you” need them. If you don’t need a rolodex because you are using a computerized system, don’t buy one. If you don’t need a holder for you pens/pencils because your desk has a built in one, don’t buy one.

Start simply and once your office is set up and you’ve used it for a while you will be able to figure out what works and what doesn’t work for “you”. Since everyone works differently you don’t want to be stuck with an office set-up that doesn’t function according to your needs.

By putting some time into planning your office according to how “you” work you will end up with an office that is functional and not just one that “looks good”.

Following is a list of some basic supplies to help you get started:

Basic Office Supplies

Calendar
Envelopes – Business size
Envelopes - Legal size
Erasers
Filing Bins
Folder Labels
Highlighters
Legal pads
Manila Folders
Markers
Notepads
Paper – copy
Paper Clips
Pen Holder
Pencils
Pendaflex Folders
Pens
Rolodex
Scissors
Stapler & Staples
Tape & Dispenser
White Out

Basic Office Equipment

Computer
Copier / Fax / Scanner
Copier -Toner
Desk
Filing Cabinet
Phone
Storage Cabinet

Basic Business Supplies

Brochures - Marketing
Business - Letterhead
Business Cards


Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

CREATING A FILING SYSTEM

One key to good organization is to have all of your papers, documents, receipts and everything else filed and filed correctly.

How to set up a filing system is dependant on if you are setting one up for your own personal records, your home office or an offsite business. It varies on how complex you need or want it to be.

A filing system has to work for you and your personality. If it’s too complicated you will not use it or will not use it efficiently.

Start by making a list of things that you want / need to keep (filed).

One system is to set up and group things by categories.

For example: Household Expenses
* Gas
* Electric
* Water
* Cable
* Phone - home
* Phone – cell

Household Expenses would be the “main” category and all of the bills that fall under Household Expenses would be “sub-categories”. Use the Pendaflex tab for “Household Expenses” and the other categories would have manila folders.

Or you can file everything Alphabetically.

For example:
* Cable
* Electric
* Gas
* Phone – cell
* Phone - home
* Water

Everything would have its own Pendaflex file.

When working with clients there is no “one size fits all” answer. It all depends on how complex you want to get, how much information you have and how you are going to use that information.

Some other examples of categories are:

Insurance
* Car
* House
* Life

Donations

Medical (you can break this down by person or just by medical / dental)

School
* General Information
* Report Cards
* Awards

Mortgage Information
* Monthly payment
* Taxes

Major Appliances
* Owners manual
* Expenses

Credit Cards
* Card information
* Bills


For Business:

Depending on the size of your business and if it’s home based or if you have an office outside of your home, there are a number of ways that you can organize your files.

If you have a fairly good sized business you could set up one drawer just for your clients and another drawer for your vendors. They would be filed alphabetically, with all invoices and payments in the appropriate files.

If you have a smaller client base that doesn’t take up an entire drawer or filing cabinet, you can create a main “category” called “clients” and have a manila folder for each client (with information about that client, including all invoices and copies of payments received).


Other categories:

Advertising
Affiliations (business & networking groups)
Business entertainment
Business Forms
Computer hardware
Computer software
Marketing expenses
Mileage expenses
Newsletters
Rent

If you have employees, you will need to set up separate employee files for each employee. Having employees also creates another set of problems and requirements for your filing system. There are federal guidelines you have to follow and you will also need to limit access to employee files.


A good filing system is one that works for you and one that you will use. Spend some time thinking about how you will use your filing system and come up with a list of categories that you think you will need. Look over the amount of information that you have for each category and decide if you really need that category (based on the amount of information that category will hold).

You can create too many categories that you will never use….or….you might have too much information in a certain category that actually needs to be broken down further.

By first taking the time to look over how you’ve captured the information in the past and how much information you actually need, you can come up with a solution that works for you.

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/